Guitar mod help!

I am new to customizing and modding guitars, so Im not sure if this is a stupid question. Does cutting into the body of a guitar ruin it completely? I know it might alter the sound a bit (correct me if Im wrong)I want to take my squire strat and cut a sliver off the side of the body to make something along the lines of thishttp://www.tonycochranguitars.com/boostercaster.htmlas you can see from the pics I would re-attatch the sliver on by means of some brass bits, but I dont think that will matter much.Thanks

It will change the sound a bit, but on a low end guitar like that it won't be terribly noticeable. Just know that in doing so you are drastically affecting the resellability of the guitar. A refinish is one thing, carpentry is another.

Oh, I thought that if I do end up doing this it would INCREASE the value because now its more like a piece of art as opposed to a good playing guitar. and I probably will be upgrading the hardware and stuff (Pickups etc.) once I do this.

Oh, I thought that if I do end up doing this it would INCREASE the value because now its more like a piece of art as opposed to a good playing guitar. and I probably will be upgrading the hardware and stuff (Pickups etc.) once I do this.

The number of times this results in desirable art: one out of nine-hundred-eight-nine.

One man's "art" is another man's "Why the hell did some yahoo DO this to a perfectly good guitar?"

One more thing you want to understand going in. What you consider "upgrading" (hardware and stuff) is usually just considered a "side grade" by most other folks. No matter how much you're spending or how much better YOU think the results are. Chances are good that your "upgrades" will actually degrade the value of the guitar.